Recessed electrical boxes are not new to the art. Such boxes are designed to be mounted in an opening in a wall or other building structure so that the actual electrical device (duplex, GFCI, switch, data jack, co-axial cable connector, etc.) is recessed into the wall and is not flush with the surface of the wall as is normally the case.
Recessed electrical boxes of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,832 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,939 comprise multiple components in addition to the cover, which is hinged along a single side. The cover of the '832 patent includes a recess through which a cord can pass. U.S. Pat. No. 6,737,576 shows another recessed box, which includes slots in the cover that permit a wire or electrical cord to pass out of the box even when the cover is closed. While these and other recessed box designs are suitable for their intended purpose, they are all configured so that the cover can only open either along a horizontal axis or a vertical axis. They are not designed so that the user can select whether the cover is to open vertically or horizontally depending on the user's need. Thus, the installer of such boxes needs to maintain a supply of both horizontally opening and vertically opening boxes in inventory to ensure that the proper box is on hand at the job site.
Additionally, these recessed electrical boxes are generally constructed as single gang boxes, although double gang recessed boxes are also used. Consequently, once again, the installer needs to maintain a supply of both types (i.e., single and double gang boxes) in stock. Because of the numerous types of recessed electrical boxes, i.e. horizontal, vertical, single and double gang boxes, a user has to carry a large and diverse inventory of boxes at a substantial cost and utilization of storage space. This is particularly undesirable for a specialty box that is used in only a limited number of applications.
It is thus an object of this invention to provide a recessed electrical outlet box with a cover that can be opened either horizontally or vertically. Another object of this invention is to provide a box that can be employed as either a single-gang recessed box or a double-gang recessed box. Still another object of this invention is to provide a recessed electrical box that is weatherproof and which is configured to permit an electrical cord to pass out of the box even when the cover is in the closed position. These and other objects and advantages are provided by the recessed box of this invention as set forth in detail in the description and drawings.